Syria Travel Newswire

The Islamic State's wanton destruction of priceless antiquities in the Middle East has triggered a global mobilization to safeguard these treasures, ranging from calls for airstrikes to special protections for untouched sites. Iraq's tourism and antiquities ministry is demanding the U.S.-led coalition against the militants use warplanes to strike the group's machinery that is destroying relics in the region.
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The Islamic State's wanton destruction of priceless antiquities in the Middle East has triggered a global mobilization to safeguard these treasures, ranging from calls for airstrikes to special protections for untouched sites. Iraq's tourism and antiquities ministry is demanding the U.S.-led coalition against the militants use warplanes to strike the group's machinery that is destroying relics in the region.
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Syrians walk past a banner bearing a portrait of President Bashar Assad in Damascus on March 4, 2015. AFP PHOTO / LOUAI BESHARA ISTANBUL: The United States still wants a negotiated political settlement in Syria that excludes President Bashar Assad, and its position on the Syrian leader has not changed, top U.S. envoy John Allen told Turkish officials late on Tuesday.
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Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on March 17 rubbished suggestions that talks should be held with President Bashar al-Assad, saying that negotiating with the Syrian leader would be no different from shaking hands with Nazi tyrant Adolf Hitler. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a weekend interview that Washington would have to talk with al-Assad eventually if peace was to be forged, in comments that drew a strong rebuke from Ankara, which said there was nothing to negotiate with al-Assad.
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UNITED NATIONS: Over the four years that researcher Xi Li has watched Syria's civil war unfold through nighttime satellite imagery, he has seen the pinpricks of light that dotted the north and east fade and the Mediterranean coast darken until 83 percent of the country's lights have gone out. From a vantage point that few everyday people have seen, Li has produced a chilling measurement of a crisis that shows no sign of ending.
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Mona Hussain's husband and four children feared they would never see each other again after being split up when their lives were turned upside down by the conflict in the Middle Eastern country. She was granted leave to remain by the Home Office - but her husband Mahmoud Alhamdu, 43, became stuck in Greece with their children because they had no passports.
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A Syrian businessman facing European Union sanctions denied on March 10 allegations that he bought oil from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant for President Bashar Assad's government. The EU put sanctions last week on George Haswani and six other prominent Syrian businessmen, freezing their assets and banning them from traveling to Europe.
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MASNAA, Lebanon: The normally bustling border crossing in east Lebanon, the most popular for visitors from Syria, has largely been quiet since the beginning of the year. That was when Lebanon decided it could not take in any more Syrian refugees and started enforcing strict entry regulations, narrowing one of the few escape routes left from the 4-year-old conflict that has displaced a third of Syria's population.
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The Department of Foreign Affairs said the 25 OFWs will arrive at 4 p.m., March 10 at the NAIA via Emirates Airlines flight EK-332, as part of the government's on-going mandatory repatriation program. This would bring the total number of Filipinos repatriated from war-torn Syria to 5,604, of which 2,560 were repatriated through Lebanon.
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A UN observation tower is seen overlooking Syria, next to the Quneitra border crossing between the Golan Heights in Israel and Syria.. A mother and her daughter escaped from Syria and made aliya to Israel last year, Ma'ariv reported Friday after the news was cleared for publication by the censor.
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The EU Friday announced that it is has strengthened sanctions against the regime and its supporters in Damascus as the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate. Seven persons and 6 entities providing support to the Syrian regime as well as benefitting from it have been targeted with a travel ban and an EU asset freeze, said an EU statement.
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Syria's renowned Ma'arra Mosaic Museum, significantly damaged and in danger of collapse as a result of the country's long and ongoing civil war, has undergone emergency conservation and protection efforts by Syrian cultural heritage professionals and volunteers.
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A never-ending stream of refugees have angered many Europeans, who ask why their countries should bear the burden of wars elsewhere. But who are these fleeing people and what have they put at stake to escape violence? "Milk, butter, flour, vanilla and sugar," says Amin Zalukh, describing the ingredients in her cookies, the first thing she offers to any guest visiting her new home.
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The United Nations' Special Envoy to Syria, Stefan de Mistura, met in Damascus with Syria's Foreign Minister, Walid al-Muallen, in an attempt to formulate and agreement for a temporary halt in fighting between Syrian Armed Forces and rebel forces in Aleppo. Syria's official news agency announced that the two agreed that a UN probe team would travel to Aleppo.
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The United States and Turkey will begin training and equipping thousands of moderate Syrian rebel forces on Sunday as part of a deal the two NATO allies signed last week, an official said. "I can say that the train-and-equip will begin as of March 1," Tanju Bilgic, spokesman for the Turkish foreign ministry, was quoted as saying by the state-run Anatolia news agency.
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A rebel fighter carries his weapon as he runs while others take positions in Ratian village, north of Aleppo, after what the rebels said was an offensive against them by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar Assad that attempted to advance in the village but failed to February 18, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah ANKARA: The United States and Turkey will begin training and equipping thousands of moderate Syrian rebel forces on Sunday as part of a deal the two NATO allies signed last week, an official said.
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ELIZABETH JACKSON: News this week from London that three British schoolgirls crossed the Turkish border into Syria to join the Islamic State group and become Jihadi brides was met with widespread criticism of Turkey. Many commentators argued that Turkey is not sincere in its support of the Western coalition because it grants militants such easy access across it borders.
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ISIS is known for using western culture in its recruiting tactics with strong social media campaigns that appeal to youth but a Disney movie?! The Disney film "Mulan" is based on a Chinese legend of a warrior woman. A dutiful daughter cuts off her hair and pretends to be a man.
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